Electric furnace.



I No. 820,574.

PATENTED MAY 15, 1906.

J. E. HEWES. ELECTRIC FURNACE. APPLICATION FILED JULY 18, 1905.

3 SHEETSSHEET l.

PATENTED MAY 15, 1906.

J. E. HEWES. ELECTRIC FURNACE.

APPLIUATION FILED JULY 18, 1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

No. 820,574. PATENTED MAY 15,1906.

J. E. HEWBS.

ELECTRIC FURNACE. APPLICATION FILED JULY 18, 1905.

s SHEETS-SHEET s.

'naces;

UNITED STATES JAMES E. HEWES,

PATENT OFFICE.

OF PLATTSBURG, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO CHARLES H. BOONE, OF

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

ELECTRIC FURNACE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 15, 1906.

Application filed July 18,1905 Serial No. 270,184.

To all whmn it may concern.-

' Be it known that I, JAMES E. HEWES, of Plattsburg, county of Clinton, and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Electric Furnaces, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has reference to electric furand it consists of certain im rovements, which are fully set-forth in the ollowing specification and shown in the accompanying drawings, which form a part thereof. The object of my invention is to provide a suitable construction of furnace for employing electricity in the roduction of carbid of calcium and other 'ghly refractory substances which shall have capacity for con-- tinuous operation and without danger of short-'circuiting or production of inferior carbid and waste of smelting material.

- My improved furnace embodies a troughshaped hearth to contain the lime and carbon or other material to be smelted combined with two electrodes arranged at an angle to each other and creating an are within the materials supported in the trough-shaped hearth.

My invention further consists in providing means for slowly feeding or moving the hearth past the electrodes, so as to convey the carbid of calcium under one of the electrodes beyond the arc or zone of fusion immediately after it is made and whereby the process of making the carbid of calcium is a continuous one. r

' My invention also com rehends man details of construction, whic ,togetherwit the features above specified, will be better understood by reference to the drawings, in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of an electric furnace embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of same, and

.Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the same looking toward the feeding end.

A is the main frame of the furnace and is grovided with two endless carriers or chains adapted to be intermittently moved over ldes B. They are driven by sprocketwhee s C and transverse shafts C, geared at I by worm and worm-wheels-with a drivingshaft 1. This driving-shaft 1 receives motion from a motive-power device known as a Replogle'governor or in any other suitable manner.

D represents a series of trough-shaped hearth-plates, which fit end to end and have flanges at the top which rest upon the travel- 7 fig chains or carriers B. As the chains are moved along additional hearth-plates D are added from time to time to the feeding end,

and corresponding lates with the roduct are removed from tiie distant end of the series. This forms a traveling hearth.

J is a shield fittin down into the troughlike hearth-plates, %ut permitting them to travel beneath it, and sa1d shield supports a tube G, having yoke G F is a tube sliding in the tube G and in which the carbon electrode E is carried. This electrode is horizontal and adjustable in the direction of the travel of the lates D by means of a hand-controlled a -u-stingscrew H or its equivalent acting on the yoke G and tube F. K is the other or vertical electrode and is fed through a guide-insulator L and is held at substantlally ri ht angles to the horizontal electrode E, so t at the electric arc extends between the two electrodes and there is a continuous space below the zontal electrode, through which space the fused carbid of calcium may be conveyed away from the horizontal electrode by the travel of the trough-sha ed hearth-plates D D.

Surrounding the e ectrodes and above them and the hearth-plates D is a hood M, through which opens a chute or hopper N for suppl 'ng lime and carbon into the trough or heart a out the electrodes, so that a continuous supply of the material to be smelted may be provided to compensate for that conveyed forward by the traveling lates D. There is also a chimney or flue o ening from said hood M, preferably beyond t e vertical electrode, to convey away the gases and fumes generated. Y

Current is supplied to the electrodes by suitable circuits and may be controlled or regulated in any manner desired. The vertical electrode is suspended by the cable 0, which terminates in a screw-shaft P,'that may be screwed into or out of a fixed nut P for the purpose of raising or lowerin electrode K. Any other manner of adjusting ghe electrode may be employed, if so deslre The governor S is controlled to rotate the the ' vertical electrode in alinement with the hori shaft I in one direction or the other, according to Whetherthe contact '1 on \the screw, shaft P is made to close the circuit R R or the circuit R R, Which lead from a battery S to the governors but, as the particular details of the governor are all old and no claimis made to anyof its parts-,ne further description of it will lac-necessary. While some automatic feeding device for the con: veyer-chains is desirable, the shaft I may be rotated by hand, if preferred.

@ne of the excellent advantages of my improyeinent consists iii-the capacitytocontrol thethickness of thefim'shed product, this car; pacity hein .dueto thefact that .11 employ. the electro esfat rightanglauand sense quentlycan vary the vertical extent: of the are. employed tofuse theburden. Moreover, hyimparting to, .thatrough haped hear-theauniform Inovementfifor. example, harbour... twelve inchesper, ,hour. -the .carbid of calci-i um, produced-is gradually and uniformly carried away from the. horizontal. electrode .E anieut ogtthezone of the are, so that. thereis no tendency Whatever to .shortrcircuitthe. furnace. Furthermore, by having capacity toazarythe distance between; the electrodesand also torcontrolthe travel .ofthe are 1 am. enabled. to, operate With-either a. constant currentona variable current and a constant I or variableivoltage; asdesired. in practice I preffir that .thevertical electrode shall. be. above, and that the-current-shall .passfrom. the vertical electrode tovthe'horizontal one.

In starting ,thefilrn'ace the vertical .elece tro de is. lowered to the. horizontal. electro de, so as to close thecircuit between them.. The OriZOntal ,.e.lectr0de...is then. drawnslowly I bacl ward byfnieansof the .screvrH so as to approximate eight inches from the vertical e eqtrode, and then the vertical electrode is. slowly .raisednntil the I desired height is .0b-- tained .tosecure the proper thickness of the ingot .b'eii1g formed.in,the..materials to be smelted or ,hurdenwhich is deposited in the iurnace..;through .the. :hop er... Ordinarily this. burdenziscomposed vc sixty per cent." lime andforty percent. .carbon. ground to gather and thoroughly mixed. 1 if the-rui nace is,..used for. any. other purposethanthe manufacture of .carbid of calciun 'th-e inimture Would ofcourse be. varied.

Illlhile I have shown the. preferred construction of my invention, l do not confinem'yself to the details, as. these maybe varied in many -..W.ays,.iv1thout departingfrom 1 the:

spirit of the invention.

,Having now described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure bv Letters Patent, is?

1,..lnanelectric furnace, the combination of a trou h-like hearth for the materials tob'e smelted aLving side flanges, two electrodes arranged at an eecgsre higher elevation than tachahly abutting and angle to each other oneot traveling chains or conveyers BBztraveling over, and resting above said guides-and directly supporting the flanges of the hearth.

,2. luau-electric furnace the combination of a trough-like hearth for the materials to he smelted, tvvo electrodes arranged at an angle to each other one of said electrodes bein in alinement with the length of the trough-like hearth, and means for causing a relative movement between they electrodes and i the hearth whereby the smelted materials are conveyed away-from the electrodes;

. 3.- 1n an-electnici'nrnace the combination [of a trongh lilrethearthiorthemateria ls to be smeltecl, tWo electrodes arranged at an angle to each. other one-o5 said electrodesbeiny in falinement with the length ot the trough li-lre hearth, and means for feeding the-'hearth-lom gitnclinally and relatively to-the electrodes. Ilnameleetricfiirnace the-conehinatien ,of a: longitudinally-traveling trough shaped hearth, a horizontal electrode arranged with inithe hearth, a vertical electrode-at a'higher elevation than the horizontal electrode so as toleave a space beloW-the-vertical electrsdc in alinementwith'the horizontal electrode, a hood surrounding the electrodes and-the hearth adjacentto them-"and denenrling shield-J fitting down into: the trough-sharper.

. earth and-around the horizontal electrode to-closethehearthandy et permit it to be movedforward.

5. la an electric furnace the combination of a',he'arth, a horizontal-electizode arran ed at a higher elevation than the horizontal e cotr ode seas toleave a space helowthe vertical electrode in a alinement'witlr the horizontal electrode .and means for feeding th'erhearth longitudinally under-the electrodes.

6; In an-ele'ctricfurnace;the-combination of a hearth; ahorizontal-electrode arrangec above the -hearth avertical electrode ate the horizontal-electrode so as toleave aspa ce belcwthe-verti cal electrode'in 'alinement with the horizontal elec trodeymeans for feeding the hearth longi tudinally underthe'electrodes, ahd stationarymeans iorieeding them-ateeials to be smell-Zed to theelec-trodes'.

an'electrio furnace the combination of two-electrodes with a-eec'tional, hearth formed of a series of treiigh-lilre plates ele forming arectilinear trough, andacorr'rmoricarrier tor-holding the plates in alinement andcOnveying-t/herir ast theelectrod es,- consisting-of two :trlive ing chains and. guides therefor vrhereby -they form traveling rectilinear siipp rte.-

in: an-elec'tn'c inrnac'e the-combination of two electrodes Wit-li a sectional hearth formed of a seriesof trough-hire plates .rle-

tachably abutting and forming a rectilinear trough, a common carrier for holding the plates in alinement and conveying them ast the electrodes, consisting of two trave ing chains and guides therefor whereby they form traveling rectilinear supports, and means for operating the common carrier or conveyer.

In testilnony of which invention I hereunto set my hand.

JAMES E. Witnesses: I

JOHN E. JUDGE,

VICTOR F. BOIRE, THOMAS HALEY. 

